Prisoners' Release
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that victims receive individual and timely notification when an offender becomes eligible for earlier release under the Sentencing Act 2026.
Answered by Ministry of Justice
The Sentencing Act 2026 contains provisions which change the proportion of a standard determinate sentence which must be served in prison before the offender serving such a sentence is released automatically on licence. Eligible victims who have opted into the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, where the offender is serving a standard determinate sentence, have already been informed of the commencement of the legislation.
Following the Prime Minister's announcement on 30 August, offender release dates are being recalculated to reflect the additional offence exclusions. Victims engaged in the Victim Contact Scheme will be notified by their allocated Victim Liaison Officer once the recalculation has been confirmed and informed of any change to the offender's planned release date. Recalculations are being undertaken in release date order to ensure victims are notified in sufficient time to consider and submit representations regarding licence conditions before release.
Victims are able to make representations about licence conditions intended to protect them, including exclusion zones and non-contact requirements. They are informed of the outcome of decisions on licence conditions before release, including any conditions that have been imposed. Where a victim's representations are not reflected in the final licence conditions, the Victim Liaison Officer will explain the reasons for the decisions made.
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